Operation: Team Bonding
by MBrabs1996
Summary: Tony decides that as a "team bonding" the group needs to go camping. While that sounds fun and all, there are many surprises in store for them. What happens when Maria's father and brother are also involved in the fun? Please R&R Slight Pepperony, Clintasha, Steve/Maria, Bruce/Betty, Thor/Jane.
1. A Trip?

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here is the present I promised y'all for finishing my group therapy story! Hope you like it!**

Tony called the whole team up to the main lounge like he was an excited child on Christmas day.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait until...8 AM?" Maria asked, looking at her watch to see it was just a little after 3 AM, surprising everyone. Ever since she was hospitalized more than two weeks ago, she had barely made any appearances in the tower aside from meals and being in the training room, almost always having a phone on her if the police were to try and contact her.

"Yeah. I tired." Lili said, rubbing her tired blue eyes as Natasha sat her on her lap.

"Well, remember how I said we were going camping? Well, better pack, because we're leaving in an hour!" Tony exclaimed, causing everyone to groan in response.

"Why so early, son of Stark?" Thor asked, putting an arm around Jane, who was starting to doze off on his shoulder.

"Yeah, why not leave when we're up in...oh, I don't know...five hours!?" Clint snapped, taking Lili from Natasha and tickling the little girls stomach in an effort to wake her up.

"You seriously woke us up to tell us that?" The assassin asked, looking at the billionaire with tired, green eyes.

"Where are we going camping anyway? And does Director Fury even know of this?" Steve asked, heavy bags under his blue eyes, playing with Maria's hair as she rested her head on his lap.

"Yes, the pirate knows of this. And John and Danny are going to. Think of it as family bonding time for Agent Chill and her family."

Upon hearing this, Maria immediately sat up. Ever since her hospitalization after the run in with the same men that had molested her as a child, her father had refused to speak with her or even look at her.

_Out of guilt..._She remembered her brother saying after she had gotten out of the hospital in down town Manhattan.

"My father and brother are going? What about Anna and Ryder?"

"Anna can't come. Her parents are visiting to watch Ryder while she has to job hunt. Can I just say...you guys..." He started, pointing at Natasha and Clint, who held Lili, "and Pepper, are idiots for allowing him to watch the children when everyone is at work."

"Remember what we agreed to? As soon as the kids start showing signs of neglect or abuse..." Pepper said, trailing off as Tony sighed and rolled his brown eyes.

"So, where are we going?" Bruce asked, repeating Steve's question, not giving the husband and wife (**A/N: I'm still working on the wedding one-shot for them and Clintasha's wedding) **anymore time to argue.

"Well, we're going to Discovery Cove in two weeks, and that's way down south..."

"Just tell us where we're going so we can go pack!" Pepper snapped, jostling two month old Jace back to sleep as he started to fuss.

Tony sighed.

"Florida"

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	2. Bears

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter, I hope y'all like it. Also, for those that are wondering, I posted Clintasha's wedding one-shot. It's called "Always" for those that want to read it. Enjoy! P.S. Natasha may be a little OOC in this chapter, just fyi...**

By 4 AM, the group was packed and on the road. As soon as her head had hit the seat, Lili passed out from exhaustion.

"Stark, you're lucky Pepper loves you or i'd rip out that arc reactor." Maria grumbled, causing Clint and Natasha to nod in agreement.

"You've never been a morning person." Danny said, earning a glare from his sister.

"Hey, how about we play a game?" Tony asked, holding Pepper's hand in his as he continued to drive, looking in the rearview mirror at the group.

"Sure! How about we all play the quiet game? First to talk has to be quiet the whole camping trip and has to do paper work for SHIELD?" Natasha said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the billionaire.

"Nah. That's boring. Come on Natashalie! You and Bird Brain are assassins, surely you know some fun games? Ooh...how about the alphabet game?"

Maria's father was quiet the whole car ride, which was pretty hard to do seeing as it was an twelve hour drive, as he fell asleep with Roxy, Natasha's six month old Rottweiler lying across his lap, prompting everyone to take a picture.

When the group arrived at the camp site, Lili immediately ran to the shore to put her feet in the water, Roxy keeping a close eye on the child as everyone got to work setting up the tents.

"Alright, tent assignments! Steve and Maria are sharing a tent with Danny and John. Natasha and Clint will share a tent with Lili. Bruce and Betty will share a tent with Jane and Thor. Then me, Pepper, and Jace will get our own tent, and the dog can sleep out side by the fire at night...to keep watch...for Alligators." Tony explained, prompting Pepper to roll her eyes at her husband.

"Yes, because there are tons of Alligators that live in Rivers." She said sarcastically as Tony took the baby from her arms, kissing her on the lips as he brought Jace's carrier and placed it by the fire pit next to the dog as Thor and Jane went into the woods.

"Mama! Look!" Lili shouted, pulling on her mothers pants leg.

"Not now Lilith. I need to speak with your Daddy. Go play, alright?" Natasha ordered, heading to the opening of their tent to speak with the archer as he un packed the weapons, minus Tony's suit.

"Hello, Mister Bear!" She called, walking towards the Black Bear, who forged on the shore, looking up curiously at the toddler.

Upon hearing this, the adults looked up in alarm.

"Lilith Rose Barton! Don't move!" Clint said, watching as the bear started to charge towards the child, who started to run as fast as she could, tripping on the gravel. Clint growled in frustration as he loaded his bow and aimed it at the animal.

"Shoot it Clint!" Pepper shouted as she tried to restrain Roxy, who barked and snarled at the animal while Tony picked Jason out of his carrier.

Clint let the arrow fly as the bear reached Lili, lodging the arrow right in the animals heart.

The animal dropped to the ground.

Dead.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Lili called as the adults ran to her aid, allowing for Clint and Natasha to pick her up and hold the sobbing child close.

"You alright, sweetie?" Betty asked as everyone tried to console the four-year-old.

"She'll be fine. Just in shock. We should have told her to play dead." Tony said as he handed Jace to Pepper, who immediately held the infant close to her chest.

"Probably wouldn't have worked. Nothing can stop a black bear attack, especially if it's starving like this one." Bruce said, kicking the animal's frail body with his foot as the group took a good look at it. The animal was clearly a juvenile, no more than three or four years old at the most. It's ribs were showing, clearly having not gotten a proper meal in weeks. Months even, so a vulnerable child would have made an easy target.

"Where are Thor and Jane?" Steve asked, changing the subject for everyone's benefit.

"Exploring" Betty stated as Tony, Bruce, and Steve began to move the body further down the beach and into the woods so as not to attract other animals.

Natasha sighed.

_This is going to be a long two weeks..._She thought as everyone set to work to prepare a fire and get dinner going.

"That was scary, Mommy." Lili said, wrapping her tiny arms around the assassin's neck as Natasha took her to sit on the dock away from everyone else.

Upon seeing this, Clint went and sat by Natasha and the little girl, who was already fast asleep. Noticing that she was shivering, Clint took off his jacket and covered Lili, attempting to keep her warm.

"You alright, Nat?" He asked, putting an arm around his wife.

"No, Clint." She choked, a stray tear falling down her pale cheeks as she held the fair haired child closer, not wanting to let her go.

"What's wrong? The bear?"

Natasha nodded.

"When I saw her approaching that bear, my heart just dropped into my stomach, like I had no control over it. I feel like, as a mother, biological or not, I should've...we should've been keeping a better eye on her. What kind of parents nearly let their daughter get mauled by black bear? We've only had her for a short while, but already we're_" She ranted, only for Clint to cut her off with a passionate kiss on the lips.

"Tasha, we're doing just fine. Parents make mistakes. Like Maria's dad, bad example, I know. Yes, we've only had her for six months, but we're new at this. We had our own parents taken from us at young ages, so we're parenting the only way that we know how. Our own way. Ask anyone, even Stark would agree that we're doing the best we can." He assured her, kissing her once more.

"Did Lili's file come in yet?" Natasha asked, turning stoic once more as she looked at Clint with urgency in her emerald green eyes.

Clint nodded.

"Yeah. I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"She's going to be fine. We're going to be fine?"

"Yes, Nat. I love you and Lilith and would die for you guys. Now, if I hear any more negativity come out of that mouth, I will personally throw you into that river and feed you to the Alligators and Bull Sharks." He said, earning a smile from his wife as he kissed the redhead and Lili softly on the foreheads.

"I love you, Clint...and i'd like to see you try to throw me into that water." She said, half joking half serious.

Clint laughed.

"Want a bet? I can throw you in there before you could even blink...or use your thigh choke on Stark. I love you too, Tasha." He said as the woman rested her head on his shoulder, Lili resting between them.

Everything was silent.

Only the crackle of the camp fire behind them could be heard over the constant hooting of the owls as they watched the moons reflection from their spot.

**A/N: So yeah, sorry if they were OOC at all. Please review and let me know what y'all think :)**


	3. Stories

**A/N: Hey guys, so here's chapter 3. I'm sorry it's a little on the short side! Enjoy!**

The group sat by the camp fire as the sun disappeared over the horizon, Natasha and Clint joining shortly after they had put Lili to bed.

"So, what is the least memorable mission that you guys have been on?" Tony asked, nodding at the two assassin's.

"I remember very little of the mission to Las Vegas. Maria was there too."

"What happened?" Bruce asked toasting a marshmallow over the flames.

"Clint? Do you mind telling that story? I remember squat from that week." Natasha explained, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, we had to go under cover as bartenders...well, Maria and Tasha were bouncers, I was the bartender. Well, Maria and Natasha went on a 'break' and they started to gamble and were drinking like there was no tomorrow. They downed maybe...thirty shots of vodka, tequila, rum, any alcohol that was there. Then they had two or three margaritas and four beers...Nat even made me take a body shot off her, and for those that don't know what it is...they basically place a jello shot on a girls belly button and the guy basically takes it off of her. Then, I turn around five minutes later and they're doing drunk karaoke..." Clint explained, trailing off as everyone broke into fits of laughter.

"What kind of songs did they sing?" Jane asked, resting the palm of her hand on Thor's leg as she rubbed her ribs that hurt from laughing so hard.

"It went from Britney Spears to Justin Bieber and even Beyonce. This was like...two years ago. .Ever. Oh, and Nat almost got into a bar fight, but that's a story for another time. I was actually too busy being entertained to do anything...I got the whole night on video." Clint explained, holding up his phone, only for Natasha to grab it out of his hand.

"No one sees this video. We had an agreement."

"So...Nat, we should go do some drunk karaoke sometime."

"Let's not and say we did. When we get back to New York maybe we'll do it."

"What Lady Jane and I wish to know is how Lady Pepper got such a nickname."

"Oh, this is a great story from what I heard from Pepper." Betty agreed as everyone turned their gaze to Tony and Pepper.

"Well, the short version is, I called Pepper up to my office...oh a little over ten years ago? And I asked her to help me with something. Apparently I didn't tell my body guards that she was coming up because they denied her entry to my office. She kept saying things like, 'I have pepper spray in my purse and i'm not afraid to use it.' so, ever since she's always been my little pepper spray. Probably the first girl to actually make a lasting impression on me." Tony explained, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Well, a woman should always carry pepper spray. The world isn't as safe as it used to be." Steve said, shrugging.

"He's got a point." John said, earning a nod of agreement from everyone else as he left to go to bed with Danny.

"Then we watched a movie in my office that day...she picked Titanic. Ugh, worse three hours of my life." He added, cringing dramatically and rolling his eyes.

"Well, let's not forget you cried. So, it's safe to say you enjoyed it." Pepper retorted, a mocking edge to her voice.

"Stark cried?" Clint asked, breaking into fits of laughter along with everyone else as Tony turned bright red.

Yep. Maybe this camping trip wasn't a bad idea after all.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	4. New Friends

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

Everyone awoke the next morning, disoriented.

"Where's Roxy?" Natasha asked, nodding to the fire pit that the dog was supposed to be sleeping next to, only to find her drinking water from the river.

Pepper held baby Jace as she walked up to Roxy and began petting her, only for her to abruptly pull away and start barking, running down the rocky shore.

"Roxy!" Pepper called, handing Jace to Tony and running after the animal with Natasha, who handed Lili to Clint.

Roxy continued running down the beach towards another family of campers, jumping on a young man who held a little girl, around Lili's age, protectively in his strong arms. The little girls brown hair in two braids down her back, her small, pale arms around her fathers neck.

"We are so sorry!" Pepper called as she and Natasha finally caught up with the Rottweiler.

"It's fine. You've got a great puppy here. How old is she?" The man asked, putting his daughter down to pet the excited puppy as his wife joined him.

"Roxy. She's six months old."

"Cool. I love Rotties. I'm Collin by the way. This is my wife, Tara, and our daughter Lizzie." He introduced his family as the rest of the group ran down towards them. Collin and his wife's eyes widened in surprise when they realized who the team was.

"I'm Pepper, this is my husband Tony, and our son Jason, but we call him Jace. These are our friends; Natalie and Clint, and their daughter Lili. Steve and Maria, and John and Danny. And of course, Thor and Jane." She introduced them, nodding to Thor and Jane who were taking their time walking over, using Natasha's alias, rolling her eyes as Tony put an arm protectively around her.

"But Auntie Pepper! Mommy's name is Natas_" Lili started, only for Clint to cover the fair haired child's mouth, whispering something in her ear. Lili seemed to understand because she nodded and her mouth formed an 'O' as he took his hand from her face.

"Nice to actually meet y'all. We're big fans."

"Fellow Midgardians! Why do you group together like this?" Thor asked, finally reaching them.

"Looks like we made some new friends, darling." Jane said gently, hooking her arm around his.

"Nice to meet you, Collin." John said as he and everyone else took turns shaking their hands.

"Daddy? Can I play with her?" Lizzie asked, pulling on Collin's pants leg and pointing at Lili.

Collin sighed.

"Elizabeth! It's not polite to point!" Tara scolded their daughter as she brushed her brown hair out of her brown eyes, looking at Natasha and Clint, who nodded in agreement.

Clint put Lilith down, gently nudging her forward in assurance.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Tony questioned, eyeing the couple suspiciously as Lili and Lizzie ran to play by the shore.

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, he's very protective." She said, allowing for the rest of the team to get the message and follow after the four-year-olds.

Tara chuckled in response.

"No, that's quite alright. I'm actually a part time police officer, I work the morning shift while Lizzie's at day care. Collin's in the U.S Army, he's home on leave until they decide where they want to ship him off to next." She explained as Collin ran a hand over his black hair as he anxiously watched the children by the waters edge.

"Police officer. Yeah right. Probably under cover." The billionaire muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Pepper to hear.

"Well, excuse us. My husband and I need to exchange a few words." Pepper said, glaring at Tony as she went down to the shore.

"What did I do now?"

"You're too paranoid! I'm not a child, it's not me you should be worrying about. It's our son!" She scolded, watching Natasha and Clint head back to their tent while Roxy and Lizzie's parents watched the kids less than fifteen yards away. Maria and her brother were less than a hundred yards away teaching Steve how to skip rocks, while Bruce, Betty and John prepared breakfast; Thor and Jane simply went for a swim.

Tony sighed.

"I know, but you and Jace are the most important people in the world to me. If I let anything happen to either one of you, i'd never forgive myself. Be it to another guy..." Tony trailed off as Pepper scoffed, cupping his face in her gentle hands, her blue eyes boring into his brown ones.

"I see where you're coming from, but Collin and Tara seem to be happily married with Lizzie, and they seem like a nice family. Give them a chance, will you? You're just over reacting, honey. Just trust me, you aren't going to lose us." She assured him, clutching Jace against her chest as Tony nodded, caressing her cheek as he bent down and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Ew! Gross!" Lili and Lizzie shouted at the two adults, prompting the children to run as Tony mockingly chased after the newly formed, inseparable friends.

"They're going to miss each other when we have to separate them." Natasha said as Pepper and Tony rejoined the group around the fire pit for breakfast, his arm protectively around Pepper as Thor and Jane returned from their walk.

_You have no idea how attached children can get..._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review, they make me happy :)**


	5. Hydrophobia

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter, sorry it's short! **

Maria sat on the dock cross legged, her white t-shirt seemed to be too big for her small frame and covered her blue jean shorts.

_These two weeks are going to be hell. My father won't look at me and Stark thinks this will fix our relationship and make my father feel less guilty? When pigs fly. _She thought as she watched Clint and Natasha teach Lili to swim while Lizzie sat on the shore with Roxy. Steve appeared to be having a conversation with Collin and Tara while Bruce sat outside his tent reading, while Thor and Jane mock wrestled with Betty, John and Danny returning with fire wood.

"Why not go swimming?" Tony asked, walking up beside her with Pepper holding Jace, poking Maria playfully in the shoulder.

"Because" She stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"Because why?"

"Tony! Don't push her. If she doesn't want to swim she doesn't have to." Pepper said, switching Jace to her other arm, holding the infant close to her.

"But Pepper! I want to know. She hasn't stepped foot in this water since we got here!"

Pepper rolled her eyes at her husband as Maria cleared her throat impatiently.

"Well, if you're so keen on finding out...I can't swim, nor do I particularly...like the water." She explained, sighing.

"Why?" The billionaire asked, causing Pepper to elbow him in the ribs.

"When I was eight, my Aunt took Danny and I to the beach and we rented some surf boards. Well, I didn't see a wave coming and it knocked me off the board and it kind of just held me down. So, I had to reach down and undo the leg rope. One of my younger cousins drowned right in front of me too about...two years later...and over the years, my body just...forgot how to swim."

"So...you haven't been any where near the water in about fifteen years and you "forgot" how to swim?" He asked.

Maria nodded.

"Well, now is a good time than any to learn!"

The woman's eyes widened.

"Stark, don't you d_" She started, but the older man wasn't listening.

Tony picked her up bridal style, spinning her around before he threw her as hard as he could, into the cold water...

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	6. Catatonic

**A/N: So, here's the next chapter! I'm sorry I haven't updated, i've been sick...and then I gave my cold to my Mom and she got pneumonia...how the hell do you get pneumonia from a cold? Anyway, enjoy.**

Everyone stared in shock as Maria disappeared under the surface of the water.

"What the hell did you do!?" Danny shouted, kneeling down at the edge of the pier looking for any sign of his sister.

"Well, I thought_" Tony started, only for John to cut him off.

"My daughter can't swim!" He exclaimed, about ready to kill the billionaire.

"I didn't know she was serious, I_"

"Alright! We can talk about how Stark's a dumbass later, but right now_" Natasha started, only to be cut off by a splash in the distance.

Steve was gone.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maria was trying to keep calm as she sank further down.

_Which way is up? _She thought, kicking frantically, raising her hands in an attempt to break the surface.

_Is this seriously how I die? Drowning? _

It seemed like forever, but Maria was quickly growing tired and running out of breath, accidentally inhaling, which allowed water to make it's way into her mouth, choking her and making it's way into her lungs. As she was giving up, Steve grabbed her around the waist, bringing her towards the surface of the water as she was beginning to lose consciousness...and a little bit of her mind along with it.

"Bruce!" Steve called as he broke the surface, carrying the woman bridal style up to the rocky shore, where he gently lay her down. Her eyes were partially open, almost as though she were staring into space.

Bruce knelt down beside her, quickly checking for a pulse.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded, signalling that she was breathing, although her pulse was faint.

"I don't get it...it's like she's conscious but she can't responde." Betty stated, watching as Jane looked into Maria's smoky grey eyes as the pupils moved from side to side, almost anxiously.

"I've seen this before. Darcy's had this before, but I can't recall what it's called." Jane said, looking confused.

"As have I. Usually, it's when one gets poisoned in Asgard."

Bruce sighed.

"Well, I have seen this before, and Thor, it's not from an animal. I haven't seen it a lot, but I know what it is. She's in a catatonic comatose. It's usually characterized by the body being rigid, immobilized state. It's a condition called Catatonia, and it can often be caused by emotional trauma, as well as mental or psychological, and in rare cases, bipolar disorder and depression." He explained, grabbing the mini silver flashlight that Clint handed to him, looking into her dilated pupils.

"What going on?" Lili asked, coming up between Natasha and Clint, gasping as Collin and Tara covered her friend's eyes, Clint doing the same.

"Lili, don't look sweetheart. Aunt Maria's fine."

"So, you mean that..." John started, trailing off, looking increasingly distressed, actually regretting coming back into his daughters life.

"No, it wasn't caused by what you did to her when she was young. I'm ninety percent sure of that. It's rare, but I think being thrown into the water...almost scared her half to death."

"So...it's possible to be scared to death?" Steve asked, putting Maria's head on his lap.

"Very possible. Rare but possible. She may also be in shock."

Bruce looked back up at Steve, who sighed and put his hand against the woman's forehead.

"She's cold."

"Could be a sign of shock. All we can do is keep her warm and hope for the best. It could last for hours, days, or even months, but that generally doesn't happen."

* * *

Pepper sighed and turned to Tony as everyone helped Steve bring Maria to their tent, Lili and Jace being watched by Lizzie's parents, inquiring about what happened.

"Why?" She asked, tapping her foot, hands on her hips.

"I didn't think_" He started, only for her to cut him off.

"You NEVER think! She told you she couldn't swim, and what did you do? Throw her into the water almost scare her to death!" She shouted, throwing up her arms in frustration.

"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't think she was serious. I thought she was joking."

"Did it look like she was joking?"

"I'm sorry" Tony said, putting an arm around his wife, only to be roughly pushed away.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She said coldly.

Pepper turned on her heel and briskly walked in the direction of the others, before adding,

"You're sleeping outside tonight!"

Tony was left alone.

**A/N: Sorry if it isn't any good! I haven't slept in two days either...please review, I love reading them :)**


	7. Awake

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's Chapter 7, hope y'all like it!**

Steve sat in his and Maria's tent for most of the day, talking to her in an attempt to get a response of some kind out of her.

"Mar, you need to wake up. Please, for me." He begged, smoothing a strand of dark hair out of her face. His blood was boiling and all he wanted to do right now was murder Stark.

"Steve? It's dinner time. Want something?" Natasha asked, opening the tent flaps and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Steve shook his head.

"No, i'm not hungry." He answered, looking up at her, his blue eyes boring into her green ones.

"You need to eat something, Cap. She's going to be fine. You heard Bruce, she's most likely in shock and should be fully...conscious...by tomorrow."

"Yeah? What if she's not? I can't lose her. It's going to be like Peggy all over again."

Natasha sighed and knelt down beside the soldier.

"Nothings going to happen to Maria. I care about her too, she was probably the only one besides Clint that actually paid attention to me and tried to be my friend when I first joined SHIELD. She can take care of herself, she's strong. I can guarantee that you won't become what Stark calls a 'capsicle' for another seventy years. You're not going to lose her, even if you wanted to." She assured him, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of his face.

"Coming?"

Steve nodded reluctantly.

"Give me a minute?" He asked, allowing for the assassin to nod and leave the tent. Steve watched her rejoin the others, sitting by Clint as he tickled Lili, trying to get the child's mind off Maria. Steve almost smiled at the three, silently hoping that could be him and Maria in the future.

"I love you, Maria." He said, kissing her on the forehead and holding her hand in his.

_What are we going to do with Stark? _He thought bitterly, wondering how everyone else, including the billionaire himself, were feeling. Probably pretty terrible seeing as one of their own almost died.

The man was brought out of his thoughts when the woman squeezed his hand as if reassuring him.

"Mar? Can you hear me?"

Steve watched in amazement as she blinked rapidly, trying to get moisture back into her dry, gray eyes, and squeezed his hand again.

"Can you hear me?" He asked again, pressing the palm of his hand to her forehead.

"Every word" She said, her voice hoarse and body stiff from being completely rigid and unable to talk as she sat up and caressed his face in her hands.

"I'm going to kill Stark!" She growled, getting up and grabbing Steve's sweatshirt, putting it on as she reached for her gun, only for Steve to grab it before she could reach it.

Maria glared.

"Okay, i'm pretty upset with him too, but killing him is not going to solve anything."

"Well, I want to murder him for not only almost killing me, but my contacts fell out in the water. I can probably be considered legally blind without them!"

"Got glasses?"

The woman stopped pacing and gave her boyfriend an, '_are you kidding me?' _look.

"Have you seen me wearing glasses?" She asked, before sighing in frustration and grabbing his hand, pulling him out of the tent behind her, dropping the gun at the foot of their sleeping bags.

Stark was dead meat.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :) and feel free to offer up ideas of what you'd like to see in this story! I'm always open to ideas!**


	8. Pissed

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Now, just out of curiosity, if I wrote a, probably with a lot of feels, agents of SHIELD fanfiction, who would read it? **

Maria crossed her arms as she approached the group, visibly pissed off. Tony stopped eating and looked at her, eyes widening when he saw her glaring at him, trying to inconspicuously move closer to Bruce and Betty.

"Hey, Mar. How do you feel? Hungry?" Betty asked, putting a hamburger on a plate and holding it out to her.

"I'm pissed" She stated, not even glancing at the food or the woman, speaking with clenched teeth.

"We know what you need. Why don't you show Tony how pissed you are?" Jane said, nodding at Bruce and Betty, who got up and went to sit by Clint and Natasha.

The woman took a threatening step forward.

"I'm sorry?" Tony said, making it sound like a question as he got up and backed away slowly.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! You almost killed me and you owe me new contacts! Right now, I want to strangle you!" She growled, closing the distance between them as she grabbed him by the throat, too quick for him to comprehend what she was doing.

"Pepper. Help." He choked, trying not to look at Maria, who shot him a withering gaze.

"Nope." Pepper said, filling up the baby bottle she had in her hand for Jace, clearly still angry at her husband.

"Someone?" He asked, Maria's grip getting tighter with each word he spoke.

"Nah. You had it coming!" Everyone chorused.

Even Thor and Lili agreed.

"Roxy?" He asked, looking at the Rottweiler, who just continued to chew on her bone as if he weren't there.

"She knows you deserve it." Natasha said, smirking at him as Clint bent down to pet the dog.

The only thing that got the Agent to release her grip was her cell phone ringing.

"This isn't over"

Maria took her phone out of her pocket and went to sit by Steve, her gaze never leaving Tony.

"Hello?" She answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"_Agent Hill? It's Agent Ward"_

"Yes, I totally couldn't see that." She said, half sarcastically half serious, shooting another glare at Tony.

"_We had a little situation on the ground in Peru...and on the plane...but it's handled...with some minor damage." _Agent Ward said, sounding a little uneasy.

"What damage?" She asked, sighing, this was not something she wanted to hear on vacation.

"_Well, Skye is our new consultant, you know that, right? Well, now you do. We brought her to investigate an 084 with us. Well after a fight with rebels, especially on the plane with the uhm...Peruvian police_" _He started to explain, only for Maria to cut him off.

"_Well...we may or may not have blown a small hole in the plane..."_

"How small?" She asked with clenched teeth, just about losing her patience.

"_Small enough that we nearly fell thirty thousand feet out of the plane and had to use a life raft as a temporary solution..." _He said, trailing off as Maria started to shout into the phone, actually having him hold the phone away from his ear...loud enough for all of SHIELD to hear.

"WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO BLOW A GOD DAMN HOLE IN THE PLANE!?" She shouted, blowing up at the Agent on the other end of the line, everyone stopped eating and stared at her. Mouths hanging open in shock.

It was safe to say, she was pissed.

Never has anyone...not even Tony...seen her so angry...except for that moment when she tried to strangle him.

Maria put her face in her hand in frustration.

"_Well, Agent May said that the lab doors were tied to the pressure...whatever it was she said...and Skye_" _

Ward didn't get a chance to finish before the woman hung up, sighing once more as she got up angrily, growling in frustration as she walked back to her tent.

_I need another mission..._

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :) and yes, this chapter had spoilers to Agents of SHIELD. Sorry. **


	9. Quality Time

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I've been working on my Agents of SHIELD fanfiction! So if you've read it...I know, I have an issue with my characters getting pregnant -_- I can't really control it lol it just happens! Anywho, enjoy!**

After Maria's outburst, Natasha and Clint grabbed Lili and Roxy and immediately set out to find firewood, wanting to be as far away from the angry Agent as possible.

"Is it sad I actually feel bad for Stark?" Clint asked, causing Natasha to hit him in the back of the head as he watched Lili skip ahead of them with the dog, disappearing behind some bushes.

"Of course it is! He deserves what's coming, he nearly killed Maria!" She half whispered, picking up a log as they continued walking along the trail.

"I know, but he didn't know_"

"She told him that she didn't like the water and couldn't swim."

Clint sighed as they kept walking, Natasha clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Alright. I get it, now give me a hug and a kiss so Lili knows we love each other when she comes back." He said, leaning in to kiss his wife, only to get a handful of dirt thrown in his face as she ran.

"Really? Real mature, Nat! I'm coming for you!" He called, dropping his bundle of firewood and running after her at full speed, grabbing her around the waist, kissing her on the cheek.

"Let me go! Clint!"

"Natasha!" He mimicked, not releasing his grip until she returned the affection and kissed him passionately, only pulling away when Lili came back with something in her small hands, the dog in tow.

"Mommy! Daddy, look what I found in that Marsh Swamp!" Lili called, running up to them in excitement, holding a baby alligator.

"What is it with you and dangerous animals, Lilith?" Natasha asked, kneeling down to the child's height.

"But Mama, it's only a baby..." She said, trailing off as both assassins gave her a stern look, Clint kneeling down to her height as well.

"We know that, Lili; but where there's a baby, there's a very worried Mommy or Daddy looking for them. And worried Mommies and Daddies can be scary. Understand?" Clint asked, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of Lili's face.

Lili nodded, her big blue eyes looking innocent as she looked at her parents, then the baby Alligator.

"I understand, Daddy. I should probably go put him back where I found him, huh?"

The assassins nodded and stood up as the four-year-old ran back into the bushes with the Rottweiler to the swampy marsh.

"She reminds me of myself when I was young." Clint said, watching the child carefully.

Natasha gave him a strange look.

"Really? She reminds me of a young version of Steve Irwin."

Clint ignored her comment and turned to look at his wife.

"What about you? What were you like before the Red Room?" He asked, knowing that he was treading on dangerous ground, but felt the need to ask her.

Natasha tensed up before sighing and looking up at him with her dark green eyes.

"I remember very little. All I remember is that I had two parents that loved me, very much like how we love Lili. According to Ivan, who had watched me for some time before setting the house on fire and taking me, I looked a lot like my Mother. But, as time went on, i've forgotten what my parents looked like or sounded like. I was a well behaved, quiet little girl, pretty shy too. Hard to believe, right? Yeah, me too." She said, sighing once more as she watched Lili run back to the camp to play with Lizzie.

"I'm glad Lili has Lizzie to play with. Maybe they can stay in touch after we leave here, but i'm not sure. Lizzie's parents do travel a lot. Lilith needs other kids to play with. I just hope she's safe and never has to go through what I went through."

Clint put a comforting arm around Natasha's shoulders.

"She's going to be safe, don't worry. If anything or anyone tries to hurt her, we'll protect her. Everyone will." He assured her, giving another kiss that Natasha willingly returned, "but, if you want her to have kids to play with_" Clint started to add, only for the redhead to cut him off.

"Ask me when Lili starts preschool next month, then we'll talk." She said, playfully elbowing her husband in the stomach.

"Nat!" A voice called.

The two turned to see Maria jogging slowly toward them, her stature visibly more relaxed than it had been earlier in the evening at dinner.

"What's wrong? Stark annoying you again?" Natasha asked.

Maria rolled her eyes.

"Worse. Tony wants to play a game."

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review :)**


	10. Angry Pepper & The Game

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter!**

The group sat around the fire as Tony paced in front of them.

"So…what's the point of this game?" Maria asked, raising an eye brow at Tony, her gaze never leaving the flashlights in his hands.

"To be the last man…or woman…standing."

Pepper sighed.

"What is this game you want to play, Tony?" She asked, rocking Jason to sleep as she sighed once more.

"Manhunt. How you play is that one or two people have a flashlight and the others hide. The people with the flashlights have to find the others. Rules are simple. There are no rules, but Thor, you can't use your hammer." He explained, looking at the God who sulked as he dropped his hammer on the rocky beach, as gently as possible.

"Well, I'm not playing. I'll stay and keep Pepper company and read." Bruce said, giving the woman a soft smile.

"But Bruce! You have to play! You played paintball." Betty protested, sighing as her green eyes looked into his brown ones.

"Yes, but that was different. It was therapy."

Tony sighed and closed his eyes before looking back at the others.

"No. Everyone's playing and that's final. Even you, Pepper. Roxy can watch Jace."

Pepper raised an eye brow.

"Really? You trust a Rottweiler with the care and safety of our son?" She asked, handing the infant to Maria before the other woman could protest, so she could put her hands on her hips.

"Yes. Just like when Jack was practically in charge of protecting Rose, Roxy will protect Jace."

"Rose and Jack are fictional characters in _Titanic…_" Pepper started, trailing off as she slowly let his words sink in.

"And that was a very romantic movie! I would die for you like he did for Rose…I mean it reminds me of us. Realistically, if one of them had gotten into the life boat, Leonardo and Kate would've lived happily ever after."

Natasha put her head in her hands.

"Seriously, Stark? You did not just compare your marriage to _Titanic!_"

"That's the worst thing you could do!" Clint agreed, looking back and forth between Pepper, whose face was red with fury, and a confused Tony.

"Aye. One does not simply compare their relationship to a movie that ends in tragedy." Thor said, while Pepper's glare never wavered as she grabbed Jace from Maria and went back to her tent.

"You are so screwed." Steve stated, causing the billionaire to smack him in the back of the head, earning a death glare from Maria.

"Thank you, Capsicle. I did not know that." He replied sarcastically, moving to follow Pepper, only for Jane to hold him back.

"What she needs right now is to calm down. I know when I'm upset I want to be left alone. Leave it until after we play, so this way she has enough time to calm down and won't be as upset when you talk." Jane said calmly, getting up as everyone else dispersed into the woods.

Thor and Tony were the first ones to be the "taggers"

This night was not going to end well.

**A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review **


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